Toy vehicle



A... A. WESTER.

TOY vs HicLE. APPLICATION HLED APR.29, 1920.

Patented May 17, [1921.I

IINVNTOR.

ARTHUR A. VTESTEB., OF BOONE, TLOTA.'

TOY VEHCLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented lllay 17, 1221.

Application filed April 29V, 1920. Serial No. 377,592.

10 all 'w fiom t may concern Be it known that l, ARTHUR il. Yins'rnn, a citizen ot the United Sta-tes, residing at Boone, in the county of Boone and State oi lowa, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Toy Vehicles, ci which the :follow/'ing is a specirication.

This invention relates to a toy vehicle which may be so constructed as to simulate, in appearance and action, the movement ot a trotting or a cantering horse.

The invention has, as one object thereof, the provision of a vehicle of the above mentioned character which is passenger propelled either by the occupant thereof imparting motion through' walking movements of the feet on the ground or by teetering motions of one or more passengers.

The invention has as a further object the provision of a running gear having axles carrying wheels, a passengercarrying body pivotally carried above said running gear at substantially the transverse portion with means connecting one oi the axles with the passenger carrying body in such manner that propulsion or the vehicle imparts an oscillatory motion to the passenger carrying body thereby simulating the movement of a horse or other animal.

Another obj ect of the invention is the provision of a running gear having a passenger carrying body mounted thereabove and wherein the running gear exceeds in lateral dimensions the width of the passenger carrying body with the passenger thereon whereby the lateral stability of the vehicle is greatly increased.

ln the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle constructed according to the present invention. Y

Fig. 2 is a side elevation oit the vehicle shown in Fig. l.

In detail:

A vehicle constructed according to the present invention comprises a running gear A and a passenger carrying body B.

The running gear A consists of a frame 1 having a narrow portion 2 at the forward end thereof which has pivotally secured thereto by a king bolt 3, the axle 4, the configuration of which is square in cross section or flat on the side adj acent the narrowed portion 2 so that there is' no tendency of the axle to turn. The ends of the axle are round as shown at 5 and wheels 6 are secured thereto by means of washers 7 and cotter pins 8. Vith this construction a simple axleA mounting is secured which, by reason otfthe flat i'ace of the axle being adjacent the flat 'face of the underneath side oi the narrowed portion 2 has no'tendency to rotate and bend the king bolt 3 which forms the steering pivot oi" the axle.

rit the rear end the frame l is centrally cut out as shown at 7 and on Yeach portion 8 a bearing 9 vis secured in position on the under face and receives an a'le 1G carrying wheels 11 secured in piaceA by nuts 12 and cotter pins 18 keying the wheels 1l and axle 10 for simultaneous rotation on propulsion oi the vehicle. Centrally of the axle is a crank portion 14E, the cheeks ot' which prevent movement o the axle 10 transversely ot' the vehicle.

lnverted Y-shaped brackets 15 lhaving bearings 16 at their upper end are secured by bolts l? to the frame member l. These brackets 15 are so located that the bearings l@ lie in a vertical plane cutting the transverse center line of the running gear or" the vehicle the reason for whichlwill be hereinafter set forth. A passenger carrying body seat 18 is provided with a substantially cenf trally positioned bearing member 19 mounting a pivot 2O journaled in the bearings 16 of the inverted Y -shaped brackets 15. At the extreme forward end oi the seat 18 is mounted a horses head or other animal head 2l which may have handles 22 as shown, the forward end of said seat 18 being narrow as indicated at 23 to correspond proportionately with the narrowed portion 2 oi the trame member l. At the rear end the seat 18 carries bolts 24rrnounting bearings 25 in which is carried a pin 26. The crank `lll of the axle 10 and the pin 26 are connected by a connecting rod 27 so that on propulsion of the vehicle an oscillatory movement is iinparted to the body seat 18. By reason of the fact that the pivotal association oi' the running gear and body seat is at substantially the transverse center its great longitudinal stability is imparted to the vehicle as a whole. y

ln the operation ot the vehicle, the passenger may sit at substantially the transverse center which is over the bearing 19 and propel himself along by swaying movements' of the body, the Jfeet being placed on the front axle for steering and the handles 22 being grasped. Due to the arrangement of the crank 14 and the connecting rod 27 in combination with the pin 26 carried by the body seat 18 such propulsion will impart oscilla! tory movement to the passenger carrying body B. The vehicle may also be used in coasting in which case the passenger places his feet on the axle 4L at each side of the king bolt 3 and moves the axle for steering. The speed of the vehicle may be controlled by moving to the rear of the pivot 2O thus disposing all oi' the weight on one side of such pivot and thereby retarding the progress of the vehicle.

In the event that the vehicle is used by two passengers they 'may use the Vbody seat 18 as a teeter board for propelling the vehicle, one passenger being placed on each side of the pivot 20 and by teetering movements of the bodies of the passengers the vehicle will be propelled over the ground by reason of the crank 14 and the connecting rod 27 turning the axle l() and the speed of the vehicle may be increased or diminished at the will of the passengers by one of such passengers moving to or from the pivot 20.

I claim: In a toy vehicle, a running gear comprising a Hat frame member having a reduced forward portion, a front axle provided with wheels, said axle being pivoted to the extreme forward end of the reduced portion whereby a short turning radius is secured, a rear axle carrying wheels and having a crank, the frame member being cut in from the rear end to permit movement of the crank of said axle, inverted Y-shaped brackets carried by said frame member intermediate the axles and on opposite sides of the iframe member, a passenger carrying body member also having a reduced forward portion and co-extensive with the frame member, said body member carrying Va centrally disposed bearing, an axle carried in said brackets and said bearing, bearings at the rear extremity of said body member and reiceiving an axle, and a connecting rod carried by said last-mentioned axle and connected with the crankof the rear axle.

In testimon whereof I aiiix my signature ARTUR A. TESTER [L s] 

